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Playmaker
Playmaker
Posts : 40
Join date : 2020-07-13

What We've Learned From SBLM Season So Far Empty What We've Learned From SBLM Season So Far

Fri Jul 31, 2020 6:26 pm
60 games is certainly a fair enough sample size to gauge how the SBLM season has played out thus far. The standings are beginning to break apart as teams separate themselves from the rest of the pack. Given the info we have at our disposal, here are a few takeaways from the first couple of months of the season:

1. Pitching is King

Just like in real baseball, having a fully-staved clubhouse of pitchers is key to success over the long season. I've long subscribed to the idea that having a deep starting rotation in baseball is akin to having a franchise quarterback in football or a superstar scorer/creator in basketball. No matter how dominant a single pitcher is, they can only pitch once a week. It takes all hands on deck for a strong rotation - meaning the No. 3 and No. 4 guys have to be able to hold their own as well. Thus far, we have seen the league's top team - the 42-18 Sherbrooke Mohawks - decimate the league led by a dominant pitching staff. In fact, all four of Sherbrooke's main pitching staff were named to the All-Star roster. In a staff filled with aces, early CY Young candidate Chien-Ming Wang stands out as the 41-year-old leads the SBLM in ERA, WHIP, K/9 and opponents OPS. No matter how Sherbrooke's lineup performs in any given game, their gifted pitching staff will keep them in games for a chance to win.

2. Wade Landry is your MVP

Though Wang and the rest of the crew have been vital to Sherbrook's success, the MVP is an individual reward, and no single player has been more vital to his team's success than Sherbrook's All-Star right fielder. Landry came out of the gates a bit slow before turning it on mid-April. The speedy Landry recently polished off an extraordinary May comprising a slash-line of .382/.438/.610 and is currently the stolen base leader with 20 - double the league's no. 2 ranked swiper - and the league leader in WAR (3.Cool. Most impressively, Landry's power numbers have exploded since last month as he now leads the league with a gaudy .522 slugging percentage on the season after notching 25 extra-base hits. This emergence of pop has been crucial at the top of Sherbrooke's lineup, as he now boasts one of the more impressive power-speed profiles in the league.

3. Have and Have-Nots

To put it plainly, there are three good teams and three not-so-good teams. We've talked about Sherbrooke plenty, but the Pioneers and the Centurions deserve plenty of credit for the seasons they've put together thus far. The Pioneers have been the league No. 1 ranked offense for a majority of the year and pace the league in most major categories including runs scored, team OPS, and extra-base hits. The Centurions are hovering at .500 currently with a firm hold over the West.

Now for the not-so-good. Chicago, Redwood City, and Miami haven't exactly set the league ablaze this year. Chicago's offense has been downright pitiful, as the latest batch of games saw the team on-base percentage for the Storm dip to .298 as they rank last in virtually every offensive statistic. The Flamingos pitching staff has allowed the least amount of home runs to opposing hitters, but somehow rank dead-last in every other pitching category. The Roos have been fairly feisty, but just went 9-20 in the month of May and boast the slowest team in the league with one stolen base on the year.

This is a three-team race for the title, and that is that.
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